Just Curious...What does it mean?

slreed

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I just got a new kitten, my third, and she naturally brings behaviors that are new to me. What does it mean when she scratches on the floor or wall after eating?

My husband once had a cat who did this when he did not like the food; however, she will eat most of the food on the plate & then scratch.

Any ideas? I just want to make sure she's happy


Thanks!
 

hell603

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my Loki does that too - in the wild the buried what is left over for later - this the domestic version of it.
 

safron

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Cats work off of smells. When they smell something that they do not like or do not want anymore they bury it. Just like when they go to the bathroom.

When my cat Lucy is finished eating she claws at the floor around the plate to 'bury' the food. It is very funny to watch b/c clawing on carpeting is not accomplishing anything.

Your kitten sounds very cute, lucky you:tounge2: !

-safron
 

mandycat

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I haven't seen mine do that with her food dish but she has a peculiar (to me) behavior at her water dish.
I have a 16 oz plastic mug sitting on the kitchen counter next to the sink & this is what she uses most often. She also has a 12 oz heavy dish in the room where her food dish is. With either one she just scrathes aways very fast with both feet, a foot on either side of the container. After a half dozen passes with the scratching she drinks the water.
It doesn't seem to matter whether I just filled it with fresh water or if it is already sitting there. She doesn't do this every time but most of the time.
She does another funny thing sometimes at her water dish that sits on the floor. She will take a couple of laps then lie down & finish drinking. It is so funny. I usually say "Is the poor kitty tired"?

 

spacecat

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Whoa! I've never heard of cats scratching by the water dish behavior. Since many cats do it, it must be some ancient ancestral instinct-thing. Cats never cease to surprise and amaze!
 
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slreed

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Thanks for the information and the very cute stories!! I'm so glad that I found this forum.

 

hissy

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I have several kitties that do this with the water bowl as well as the food bowl. It is a leftover trait from their ancestors who used to bury the food for survival. I was getting one cat that was so anxious in the pawing that she was throwing stuff into the bowl. So I bought a great big men's handkerchief and placed it underneath her bowl, when she is done, she scoops the handkerchief over the bowl, the smell goes away and she walks away. I can't do this with the water bowl, so I have huge ceramic dish that I put water in that she can't tip over.

She is so funny to because she will go into the bathroom and cry until I fill up a coffee mug with water, set it on the floor and then she scratches all around it, drinks most of the water and then leaves! So go figure???
 
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